Sam Wilson (Earth-11584)
History "I just want to make sure this is the way you want to do this. Because before I get shot at, I'd like to know the reason why." 'Samuel Thomas Wilson ' was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1983. The son of a longshoreman and a waitress, Wilson was their only child and grew up poor, raised in the public housing projects of Baltimore around drugs and crime. Despite this environment, Wilson's family was a loving one and he avoided many of the pitfalls that other children from his neighborhood would fall into, namely by applying himself in school and finding a goal in life, namely joining the United States Air Force. Upon enlistment in 2003, Wilson was selected out of several trainees to be a part of the pararescue corps, and eventually into a top secret program involving a new manned exo-suit called the Falcon program. The exo-suit itself was partially based on technology the Air Force obtained from Stark Industries (further augmented by their brief ownership of a prototype Iron Man suit). Several prototypes were made, and Wilson was one of the chief pilots of the program, along with his wingman Thomas Riley, who would grow to be his best friend. In 2009, Wilson and Riley were serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan, when they were called into a dangerous firefight situation to provide air support and evac to a group of pinned down Marines. Both Wilson and Riley were able to help the Marines escape, but an RPG struck Riley head on and killed him right in front of Wilson. This death stuck with Sam for many months afterwards, and after budget cuts caused the Falcon program to be placed on the backburner, he left the Air Force active duty and joined as a counselor at the VA hospital just outside of Washington D.C., helping veterans transition into civilian life. He would hold that job for a number of years, staying in shape by running around the National Mall early in the morning. It was in this daily exercise routine that Wilson would eventually meet Steve Rogers, Captain America. The two would find common ground in their shared experiences serving their country (and the loss of a friend close to them), so much so that when Rogers was doubting his service to SHIELD following the revelation of Project Insight, he went to Sam for advice. Approximately one week later, Sam found himself visited by Steve and Black Widow, both on the run from SHIELD following the "assassination" of Nick Fury. Upon learning about their plan to find out about HYDRA and Project Insight, Sam offered to help them, telling them about his experience with the Falcon Exo-suit. The two of them "borrowed" the last one from Fort Meade, and Falcon proceeded to try and help the two capture SHIELD agent and HYDRA mole Jasper Sitwell. However, an encounter with the Winter Soldier led the trio to be captured by Brock Rumlow first. Sam and company were rescued by former SHIELD agent Barbara Morse, who led them to the still alive Nick Fury. Falcon then aided Captain America in placing alternative control chips into the main computer cores of the Insight Helicarriers, preventing Zola's algorithim from correctly deploying and resulting in the destruction of the ships. After witnessing Rogers and Romanoff resign from SHIELD, Wilson accompanied Capt. Rogers on a quest to stamp out the remainder of HYDRA with the Avengers and locate the Winter Soldier, who had been revealed to be Cap's long thought dead friend James Barnes. Tony Stark provided an upgrade to Falcon's exo-suit and granted him goggles that would interface with the pack, giving him real-time environmental data in the heat of battle, as a result of his joining the Avengers Organization as a reserve member. While Captain America and the Avengers engaged hunting for the Red Skull and taking out HYDRA bases throughout the world, Sam was more focused on their "missing persons case" and trying to track down the Winter Soldier, although occasionally he would work with James Rhodes in flying support for the Avengers. Wilson was present at the victory party aftermath, where Ultron revealed himself to the Avengers and tried to kill them with infected Iron Legionnaires. Wilson would then join up with Nick Fury during the Battle of Sokovia, providing additional security when the Red Skull was enlisted to provide troop backup to take out the forces of Ultron. Wilson, Rhodes and Simon Williams (along with the Hulk) managed to keep the tyrant from taking out the Helicarrier and ensuring that the mission was an overall success. Afterwards, with the retirement of Clint Barton and Tony Stark, Wilson was made a full member of the Avengers. He also added a drone to his exo-suit called Redwing that gave him greater offensive and reconnaisance ability in a battle. A year later, on a mission to save hostages in Alexandria, Egypt, things went pear-shaped for the new Avengers, resulting in massive civilian casualties inadvertently caused by Wanda Maximoff and a bullet fired by Falcon. Included among the dead were several dignitaries from the African nation of Wakanda. This incident, among others, led to the implementation of the Avengers Protocols, bringing the hitherto independent Avengers Organization directly under the control and command of SHIELD. Unlike many of his teammates, Wilson did not agree with the Protocols, siding with Captain America in the resulting Avengers schism. Wilson would accompany Rogers to London for Peggy Carter's funeral, and then aide him in attempting to get to Bucky Barnes in Budapest after he was coerced into attacking the Accords signing in Vienna. Wilson, Rogers and Barnes engaged in battle with the Black Panther, in reality Wakandan prince T'Challa, who's father had been killed in the Vienna bombing. With Hungarian police surrounding them, as well as the remaining Avengers, Wilson and Rogers had no choice but to surrender. When Helmut Zemo broke Barnes out of prison, however, Falcon got his flight suit and Cap's shield back, leaving the SHIELD HQ themselves. They tracked down Barnes, recovered from his mental programming being triggered, and learned of several other Winter Soldiers kept on ice in Siberia, which they deduce Zemo is after. After employing Nick Fury and Hawkeye to recruit the Maximoffs and Scott Lang, Captain America and his group attempt to leave Budapest to stop him, before being intercepted by Iron Man and his group of Avengers. In the ensuing battle, Falcon sacrifices himself along with many of his teammates to ensure that Captain America and Barnes are able to escape. Imprisoned in the Raft, Wilson was visited by Tony Stark and T'Challa, who admit that they had found out about Zemo's part in the assault on Vienna and in Budapest. Wilson thus disclosed where Rogers and Barnes were headed. Later, Wilson was rescued from the Raft by Captain Rogers, along with the Maximoffs, Hawkeye and Ant-Man. While the latter two eventually accepted plea bargain deals with SHIELD for their actions against the Protocols, Falcon, the Maximoffs and Captain America (now going by the name Nomad) form a new underground group called the Secret Avengers, who remain fugitives from SHIELD custody. Powers & Abilities * Exo Flightsuit: When he was in the Army, Wilson was a pilot of an experimental exo-flightsuit known as the Falcon. The suit allows for self-sustaining flight over short distances using jet propulsion and carbon fiber wings, as well as extreme manueverability in the air. Wilson often matches this with twin submachine guns that he carries with him. * Redwing Drone: As an upgrade, Falcon carries a remote drone that can survey over terrain rapidly, track down enemies, and even be used as a blunt object offensively. * Rockets: The Falcon exosuit comes equipped with two small munitions mortar shells that can be targeted in limited range. * Guidance Computer: The computer on the exo-rig displays information of scanning and technical nature on a Heads Up Display located in goggles that Wilson wears. Weaknesses The harness itself is both the source of Wilson's strength and his weakness. It is prone to being taken out either by snapping the carbon fiber wings or by clogging the jet propulsion intakes on the back. It's likely that the pack could be hacked, if given the right equipment as well. Film Details Sam Wilson appears in the following films in the Earth-11584 continuity. In all cases he is portrayed by actor Sam Wilson. * Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) * Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) * Captain America: Civil War (2016) Category:Earth-11584 Category:Earth-11584 Characters Category:Good Characters